Raptors Now in Playoff Position

Somehow, the Toronto Raptors look unbeatable even without Vince Carter.

Alvin Williams scored 26 points, and Antonio Davis had 21 as the surging Raptors moved into playoff position with a 94-84 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday at Toronto.

The Raptors, on a remarkable roll since losing Carter to a season-ending knee injury, set a franchise record with their eighth consecutive victory after losing 17 of 18.

“This is amazing,” said Davis, who also grabbed 10 rebounds. “We’ve come such a long way in such a short period of time. This is such a great feeling because it would have been easy to give up.”

Toronto pulled a game ahead of the Pacers in the race for the eighth and final postseason berth in the Eastern Conference. Both teams have six games remaining, including Wednesday’s rematch at Indiana.

Keon Clark had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Raptors, who have defeated Indiana seven times in a row dating to last season.

Reggie Miller led the Pacers with 26 points. Jermaine O’Neal scored 24, and Brad Miller had 15 points and eight rebounds.

Toronto is only a game behind Milwaukee for seventh place and two back of sixth-place Philadelphia.

The Raptors lead the four-game season series with Indiana, 3-0, so if the teams are tied at the end of the regular season, Toronto would win the tiebreaker.

“We have to go home and regroup,” dejected Pacer Coach Isiah Thomas said. “We have to make sure one loss doesn’t totally demoralize us.”

Said Toronto Coach Lenny Wilkens: “We played great defense and our bench was awesome. I told them, don’t let anyone walk in and make a basket. If you’re going to foul them make sure they don’t make the shot.”

Boston 102, New Jersey 90--Paul Pierce scored 15 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, and the Celtics put the Nets’ bid for their first NBA division title on hold for a couple of days.

The victory not only ended New Jersey’s 13-game home winning streak, a franchise record, it also kept the Nets from clinching the Atlantic Division title.

The Eastern Conference-leading Nets can capture the division by winning one of their final four regular-season games or having the Celtics lose one of their remaining five.

Sacramento 116, New York 82--Chris Webber led eight Sacramento players in double figures with 16 points and 14 rebounds as the Kings added another remarkable chapter to their best season in history with a franchise-record 34th home victory.

The NBA-leading Kings (57-19) returned from a perfect six-game trip to humiliate the last-place Knicks with another dazzling display of ball movement and shooting.

Vlade Divac had 14 points and eight rebounds, while Peja Stojakovic had 13 points in his second game back from a nine-game absence with a hamstring injury.

Philadelphia 89, Milwaukee 87--Aaron McKie and Derrick McKey made big shots down the stretch as the 76ers sent the Bucks to their ninth consecutive road loss.

Eric Snow had 15 points and a season-high 14 assists for the 76ers, who moved out of a tie with Milwaukee for sixth place in the Eastern Conference. The teams play again Tuesday at Milwaukee.